A Star Called Henry

Volume One of The Last Roundup

An historical novel like none before it, A Star Called Henry marks a new chapter in Booker Prize-winner Roddy Doyle's writing. It is a vastly more ambitious book than any he has previously written. A subversive look behind the legends of Irish republicanism, at its centre a passionate love story, this new novel is a triumphant work of fiction. Born in the slums of Dublin in 1902, his father a one-legged whorehouse bouncer and settler of scores, Henry Smart has to grow up fast. By the time he can walk he's out robbing, begging, charming, often cold, always hungry, but a prince of the streets. At fourteen, already six foot two, Henry's in the General Post Office on Easter Monday 1916, a soldier in the Irish Citizen Army, fighting for freedom. A year later he's ready to die for Ireland again, a rebel, a Fenian, and, soon, a killer. With his father's wooden leg as his weapon, Henry becomes a republican legend - one of Michael Collins' boys, a cop killer, an assassin on a stolen bike, a lover.

Comment

This book takes us into the life of Henry Smart who faces a life of poverty growing up in the poverty of Ireland in the early 1900s. He comes to follow in his own father's footsteps (wooden leg in hand) as an escapist, who joins the Irish Republican Army as a hitman. It was an enjoyable read, but Dowell's writing will not serve as an enticement for me to read the next two books in this trilogy. (Nov 2006)